How much did you spend?
How much did you spend?
Okay. So I am trying to budget my trip but i thought i was budgeting to little and now I’m up to £40 per day for Thailand no idea how but there ya go!
What I want to know is if anyone kept track of their daily spends and what the average stuff costs such as rooms activities and food in any of these countries; Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Borneo, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
My rough guide is;
Thailand - 6 weeks
Cambodia - 2-3 weeks
Vietnam - 4-5 weeks
Philippines - 3 weeks (staying with family)
Borneo - 4 weeks
Bali/Gilis/Lombok - 3 weeks
Singapore - 4 weeks
Australia - 4/5 weeks
New Zealand - 4/5 weeks
Also, Is $15 per day for food too much, too little or about right for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam?
I currently have about £5000 saved should get £6000 maybe £6500 if I manage to nab some more shifts is this possible?
I’m quite happy to stay in cheap dorms and eat cheap food if it saves me money I won’t moan.
Also, how much should I budget for activities? Is everything cheaper booking it out there or are online prices usually correct?
Sorry about having to read yet another budget post!
:)
OK.
If you give me an hour, what I’ll do, is go on my bank and scribble down how much money I withdrew in each of these countries. Will that help? It might not be dead on accurate because I travel with the BF, but give or take it’ll be right.
Don’t over stress it, once you’ve been gone about 3 months you’ll laugh at how many notes you made that you never looked at again. But i’ll quote your post and puts some helpful hints!
You are a life saver :)
See notes in colour:
My rough guide is;
Thailand - 6 weeks
You need £150-200 per week. I spent somewhere around £300 in 2 weeks. A double room at a guesthouse will set you back £6-8 per night, and you’re looking at £1 or £2 per plate of food. Water is around 30p per big bottle, but I’d buy one, then keep the bottle and refill it at the blue water machines for 2p per litre.
Cambodia - 2-3 weeks
I spent £320 in about 12 days.It was the BF’s birthday so I paid out more than we’d normally do for a nicer room, so that may be why I spent over. Temples of Angkor 3-day pass $40 + driver for 3 days = quite a chunk of that. Accomodation was from memory around £8 EACH per night. To be honest because they use the US$, when the rates vary it makes a big difference our end too, so it’s best to do your own homework for Cambodia and search out cheaper deals. In Battambang we got a proper hotel room for £6 each per night, it varies a lot here. Food was maybe $3 per meal (We’re veggie though and normally sought out specific places, so I don’t know how this compares to general places serving meat). They generally charge $1 per bottle of water here.
Vietnam - 4-5 weeks
I spent £650 in 27 days. That includes Halong Bay (about £90) travelling up the coast by train, paying two locals £35 each to drive us back to Nha Trang from dalat on their bikes (well worth it BTW). Rooms were generally going for 200,000 dong ($10) In HMCM we got a room for $12, and in Hanoi we stayed in 2 places- one was $12, one was $17. I can’t actually remember how much water was here, but I do know quite a few places we stayed had those little water cooler machines where you could fill up for free or very cheap. I think food averaged around 20,000 dong local food (£1) and more like 45,000 in restaurants in Nha Trang. Gives you a vague idea.
Philippines - 3 weeks (staying with family)
(I haven’t been here)
Borneo - 4 weeks
Sabah- I spent £600, about £300 of this was diving & Sipadan. I can’t exactly remember the cost of Uncle Tans but it was something like £90 for the standard 2 night thing, well worth it. Veggies were well catered for too. I can’t say much more because I wasn’t well in Borneo so I’ve forgotten a lot of details, but the ferry over to Brunei via Pulau Labuan was cool. We stopped there for 2 night and hired a bike and drove round the island, only saw one other backpacker, really cool. Fuck all to do except check out war related stuff, but cool anyway.
Sarawak- I spent around £300 here, though I’d disregard this because I was in hospital here and spending a shitload on taxis etc so a lot of that money won’t be relevant. Plus we went to the cinema lots in Kuching ha, so there’s no decent point of reference for you there.
I think MULU was like £100 to fly there and back and do the show caves? The cat museum in Kuching was just bizarre, I’d definitely go.
Bali/Gilis/Lombok - 3 weeks
I only went to Bali and it was quite a while ago, so I can’t remember details I’m afraid. I just remember that it was around £20 a night for a hotel room…
Singapore - 4 weeks
I’m going to assume you mean 4 days? If not, then 4/5 days is a good amount. I spent £120 in 4 days.
You’re looking at around £15 per night for a big dorm here, the quality varies a lot.Stayed in 3 and hated 2 of them! You can get cheaper ones (SG$18 per night, but they might be awful).Food is around SG$8 per meal, street food is available if you go to the right places!
Australia - 4/5 weeks
On my last trip I spent around £3k in 8 weeks here, so £1500-1800 should cover you for the above. It doesn’t matter if you skip lunch- it doesn’t matter if you live off pasta- it doesn’t matter if you only drink tapwater and don’t buy a single alcoholic beverage (like I didn’t) the fact is, it CAN’T be done cheaper( maybe bar £100 or something). Unless you want to experience 5 weeks living in your room doing nothing! :)
To be honest a daily budget for OZ doesn’t work because you pay big chunks at a time, your bed is the only regular thing. It’ll be $300 on buses, then $200 on a tour, then $50 buying food, blabla. Beds were between $20-30 per night..
New Zealand - 4/5 weeks
Similar to OZ, NZ you just have to go week by week and keep a rough tab.
I campervanned with the BF here so I can’t comment on any hostels, plus that skyrocketed our budget because it was Christmas NYE etc.Think I spent maybe £3000 in 8 weeks here too, maybe less..That includes diving Poor Knights (good but a rip off at £120 for 2 dives!!!!) & £250 skydiving.
Shopping is costly here too, but Pak N Save was great. Look on hostelworld for rough costs of accom..All I can say is we would shop every few days and it always came to $50-100 depending on how often and what we bought.
Also, Is $15 per day for food too much, too little or about right for Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam? Some days that’ll be more than enough for your entire days budget, and other days, you’ll do a day trip or catch a train or bus etc that’ll mean you spend $30. Street food can be 50p, then you can sit in and dine properly for £5.
I currently have about £5000 saved should get £6000 maybe £6500 if I manage to nab some more shifts is this possible? I’m actually way too tired to work it out right now, but you may be a little short looking at that plan. You’ll need half of that just for OZ & NZ…I’m way too tired to work it out now, but as long as you’ve got at least £600 per months for Asia & £1500 per months for OZ & NZ, you should be good…check and see if you’re covered for that. Either way, work to get that extra £500- if nothing else it’ll mean you’ve got £500 to come home to.
Is that any help to start with?
Fuck me I’m tired now, ha! I ran out of characters!
Honestly, don’t get bogged down too much with the details, just focus on a weekly rough estimates and keep an eye on it.
im sorry but you can still swing a perfectly fine room for 2quid a night in thailand!
Oh my god! Thank you so much! You absolute star!! :D
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :)
REALLY? £2?
Yeah, but its not as easy as it used to be. I still think some of the 2 quid places i stayed in where some of the most enjoyable. Got an absolute gem of place in Chang mai if you are interested!
im sorry but you can still swing a perfectly fine room for 2quid a night in thailand!
Sorry, god honestly I was half asleep when I reeled this off last night.
Yeah I know you can get cheaper, we had one in Kanchanburi and Phitsanulok that were both 100/150 a night…But surely it’s best to quote the more costly ones so it averages out?Plus means she won’t shit herself when coming across 3xtimes the price….
I guess unless you search that price out every night, but we had real difficulty sometimes getting anything under 300 a night…
These are double rooms by the way- singles will be a little less (but work out more expensive for that person)
Does the time of year also maybe affect room prices there? I’ve got no idea if they fluctuate prices based on seasons over there??
In Chiang Mai we stayed at…er…I think it was called ‘Your Guesthouse’- they actually did have rooms for I think 150, but they were shared bathroom and fan obv. We paid 300and had a fan private bathroom double..
Thing is though, you may aswell allow yourself to spend 150-200 per person per night, and when you don’t spend it, you have extra pennis for food or drinks or tours! Winning!
Does the time of year also maybe affect room prices there? I’ve got no idea if they fluctuate prices based on seasons over there?
Well, i stayed in the same beach hut on koh chang in the high and low season. One time it cost be 100baht the next time 600baht. And i literally could not find anything else cheaper/not a cesspit at all.
Ouch…But I guess that’s how they make their money!
Natalee-
Most places to sleep in Asia are half decent, just some of the dirt cheap ones can get mixed reviews depending on how uptight you are. Also street food is awesome, so ‘cheap’ doesn’t mean it’s bad and/or that you should feel the need to moan about it! In some countries even sitting in a nice little local food joint, you’ll struggle to pay over maybe 200baht for a meal and drink or two. Obviously in tourist town that would be a lot higher!
Ouch…But I guess that’s how they make their money!
Natalee-
Most places to sleep in Asia are half decent, just some of the dirt cheap ones can get mixed reviews depending on how uptight you are. Also street food is awesome, so ‘cheap’ doesn’t mean it’s bad and/or that you should feel the need to moan about it! In some countries even sitting in a nice little local food joint, you’ll struggle to pay over maybe 200baht for a meal and drink or two. Obviously in tourist town that would be a lot higher!
200 in a local place?????? 25 more like….
Ouch…But I guess that’s how they make their money!
Natalee-
Most places to sleep in Asia are half decent, just some of the dirt cheap ones can get mixed reviews depending on how uptight you are. Also street food is awesome, so ‘cheap’ doesn’t mean it’s bad and/or that you should feel the need to moan about it! In some countries even sitting in a nice little local food joint, you’ll struggle to pay over maybe 200baht for a meal and drink or two. Obviously in tourist town that would be a lot higher!200 in a local place?????? 25 more like….
I was there 4 weeks ago, all I’m doing is showing what WE paid. Of course you can get food for 25 baht,but I’m just trying to help this girl make sure she’s got a comfortable amount to live off. We had Pad Thai for 25 baht plenty of times, and a curry and rice for 35 baht couple times….When I said ‘nice local food joint’, I mean like a proper restaurant. Not a food cart on the curb. There’s nothing wrong with spending a bit more somedays!
We’re vegetarian- this means some days we sought out specific restaurants catering to us. In a proper restaurant across the river from Banglamphu, for example:
Massaman=40/50baht
Rice=10/20baht
Shake= 30/40baht
Just adding those up is between 80-110 baht to have a decent meal, with a drink, in a sit down restaurant. I assume if people have meat/beers it’s a bit more?I don’t honestly know..Of course we didn’t do this every night, but surely most backpackers babble in a sit down joint once in a while?Or maybe they don’t,who knows.
Gary is just being a dick because he lived in buttfucking nowhere in Thailand and got meals that cheap in sit down joints!
